Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer that may take as long as 50 years to fully develop. It is caused when person has been exposed in the past to asbestos and breathes in the fibres. It forms in the linings of the chest, heart, and lungs and in the abdomen at times.
Understanding Mesothelioma
There is a thin membrane in your body that covers and also provides lubrication to various cavities inside of the body. This membrane is referred to as mesothelium. If a person is exposed to asbestos it can result in cancer in the lining called mesothelioma.
Types of Mesothelioma Cancer
Pleural Mesothelioma
It is pleural mesothelioma if the cancer developed in the lining of the person’s lungs. This type of mesothelioma accounts for around 75 percent of all diagnosed cases. That is due to the fact that often asbestos fibers get inhaled and then become stuck inside the lungs linings.
Peritoneal Mesothelioma
This form of mesothelioma is found in the abdomen lining. Peritoneal Mesothelioma is caused by a person breathing in asbestos fibres as well, just like with pleural mesothelioma, and about 20% of all diagnoses are peritoneal mesothelioma.
Pericardial Mesothelioma
This is the rarest kind of mesothelioma. It is a cancer of the mesothelium that surrounds the heart and is called pericardial mesothelioma. Currently, researchers are still trying to determine how this form of mesothelioma develops, since a majority of the diagnoses occur after the death of the patient.
Mesothelioma Symptoms
Mesothelioma is an extremely difficult kind of cancer to diagnose. That makes what the symptoms of mesothelioma very challenging since they closely mirror many other common sicknesses and illnesses. However, each kind of mesothelioma has some symptoms and signs that can watched for:
Pleural
General Fatigue
Difficulty Swallowing
Persistent Chest Pain
Persistent Dry Cough
Shortness of Breath
Weight Loss
Effusions (Fluid)
Peritoneal
Ascites (Fluid)
Seizures (10 percent of patients)
General Fatigue
Bowel Irregularity
Nausea / Vomiting
Weight Loss
Abdominal Pain
Pericardial
Heart Murmurs
Fever
Irregular Heartbeat
Weight Loss
General Fatigue
Chest Pain
Difficulty Breathing
Different Risk Factors and Causes
Exposure and Causes
Mesothelioma is almost always caused by a person being exposed to asbestos – which is a naturally occurring mineral. Asbestos became very popular throughout the 20th century due to it being very resistant to heat and it did a great job insulating different kinds of materials. Asbestos was used in many different products ranging from insulation used in residential homes and commercial buildings to brake pads in vehicles. Workers in the industries were exposed to asbestos but often did not exhibit symptoms until years or decades later.
Fibres that become stuck inside of the pleura are what causes pleural mesothelioma. The asbestos fibres can become stuck around the abdomen or stomach – in other words the peritoneum – and can result in peritoneal mesothelioma. Pericardial mesthelioma, although it is a rare from of methelioma, is caused by fibres making their way into the pericardial tissue surrounding your heart which causes pericardial mesthelioma. Perciardial mesthelioma is often not discovered until after the death of the patient
Prognosis
Whenever you hear someone use the term prognosis that refers to the amount of time that a patient is expected to live in addition to survival rates. The way that a mesothelioma prognosis may be determined is through looking at the path that your specialist believes your cancer is going to take and how it will affect you in the future as well.
